Ravi Shastri was positive in his response when asked if MS Dhoni should come out of his retirement for the upcoming ICC WTC 2023 final between India and Australia to be played at the Oval in England on June 7.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced the Indian squad for the World Test Championship final against Australia, to be played in the second week of June in England. The return of Ajinkya Rahane to the Test fold was the biggest news.
However, there was still a question mark over the wicketkeeper’s spot especially since Rishabh Pant was unavailable due to him recovering from the surgery after suffering multiple injuries in a car accident in December 2022.
India gave a chance to KS Bharat in the recent Australia Test series, while Ishan Kishan was also included in the squad. Bharat performed admirably, though there were issues with his keeping and he didn’t impress much with the bat.
He Has Shown Up A Lot Of Young Keepers In The Country: Ravi Shastri On MS Dhoni
Ravi Shastri was present in a conversation with ESPNCricinfo where this same matter was discussed. And he was asked by the anchor if MS Dhoni should come out of retirement for the WTC final.
“We should also look at Dhoni, if we are looking at wicketkeeper-batters. He looks fit enough to play,” the anchor asked Ravi Shastri in jest on ESPNCricinfo.
To this Shastri replied: “Oh yeah. He has shown up a lot of young keepers in the country with the way he has kept behind the stumps, the way he has moved just for someone who doesn’t play first-class cricket just to pitch up.”
To the unversed, MS Dhoni last played red-ball cricket in 2015 when he called time on his Test career during the Australian tour of 2014-15 after playing 90 Tests for the country. He hasn’t played any FC cricket since 2014 and retired from international cricket in 2020.